The HR & CQ Show
HR & CQ Edge is an independent strategic intelligence series addressing the most pressing human capital challenges facing organisations in the UAE, GCC and beyond.
Anchored in the EDGE framework — Equity, Direction, Growth and Experience, each episode convenes senior practitioners, executives and subject matter leaders to examine the evidence, challenge conventional thinking and advance the people agenda at board level.
For CHROs, people executives and senior business leaders who understand that organisational performance begins and ends with people.
Hosted by Emma Jordaan Founder of Infinite Consulting and Sarah Brooks, FCIPD, Founder of Fikrah HR and regularly joined by distinguished guest contributors from across the UAE, GCC and global HR community.
The HR & CQ Show
Episode 18 - Navigating Cross-Cultural Teams in the UAE: Why Culture Drives Behaviour at Work
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What actually shapes culture inside an organisation?
And why does everything seem to shift when leadership changes?
In this episode of The HR & CQ Show, we unpack one of the most relevant challenges facing organisations in the UAE today — navigating cross-cultural teams.
Drawing on real questions from our HR & CQ Breakfast Bites events, we explore:
- Why individual cultural values (not just organisational values) shape workplace behaviour
- How leadership changes can completely shift team dynamics
- The reality of working across different cultural expectations around time, communication, and hierarchy
- Why relationship-building is critical in the UAE — and why many leaders underestimate it
- How remote and hybrid teams are losing trust without intentional connection
- Practical ways HR leaders can diagnose communication breakdowns
- Why most organisations mislabel communication issues instead of recognising them as cultural
- The role of Cultural Intelligence training, coaching, and behavioural accountability
- How diversity drives innovation, performance, and business outcomes
We also explore the Cultural Intelligence lens — how assumptions, perceptions, and behaviours differ across cultures, and what leaders must do to adapt.
If you are leading a multicultural team, working across borders, or operating in the UAE’s diverse workforce — this episode will challenge how you think about culture at work.
